“The events of the past week were truly terrible. They induce people to park in a certain place and, later, while taking them to the Pena or somewhere else, the rest of the gang remains to rob and take everything, and when people return, they have nothing left,” stated the president of the Association of Estate Owners in the Sintra Mountains (APQSS), Rita de Castro Neto.
In statements, the resident also reported the case of “a Mexican couple, with three children” who last week saw their motorhome burgled, losing, among other belongings, computer equipment that was later traced to Senegal.
The harassment by tour operators in Sintra has become a negative hallmark of the town, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site, both near the Sintra CP station and around the Quinta da Regaleira.
The lack of parking in areas like Fonte da Sabuga, access to the Pena road (EN247-3), at Largo do Vítor, or on the road to Colares (EN375), near the Seteais Palace, has led to the proliferation of ‘tuk-tuks’ or TVDE (an acronym for uncharacterized vehicle transport from electronic platforms), enticing tourists to transport them to the mountain’s monuments.
According to Rita de Castro Neto, the situation “has been ongoing for some time, but is worsening, and the fact that there is very little oversight creates a sense of impunity” and allows people to “take over Sintra.”
“It’s very complicated, both for residents and visitors, as it is a traumatizing experience. And residents live in fear; there is no social peace in Sintra today,” she lamented.
Incidents involving alleged tour guides, who also pose as municipal employees by wearing official-looking jackets, have been repeated near the Quinta da Bella Vista hotel on EN375.
Reports on social media mention tourists “harassed by ‘tour guides’,” motorists intimidated into parking and accepting “a tour” while “their accomplices break into the car,” or guests threatened with “physical harm” if they call the police, and elderly foreign tourists being shoved.
“We do not know if the lack of oversight is due to a lack of resources or some complacency, as sometimes we see authorities approaching certain individuals directing traffic and telling them to leave, yet with ‘tuk-tuks’ or TVDE we do not see them being fined, or any authoritative action that would restore order,” commented the APQSS leader.
To end the impunity of these groups, estate owners are preparing “warning posters” about “car thefts,” urging immediate reporting of “any suspicious activity,” with the contact of the Sintra GNR, in Portuguese and English, and circulating an open letter calling authorities to act.
An official GNR source stated that “investigation processes” are underway regarding these cases, but since these are “private and some semi-public crimes,” they depend on complaints.
“Unfortunately, we have had difficulty getting complaints from people because they are often tourists, foreigners, who don’t want to wait or don’t have the time” to report the incidents, explained the source.
Although there is not “a serious disorder problem,” they assured that attention is being paid and a “focus on multidisciplinary teams is being placed to solve the problem, to the extent possible, which is the difficulty of bringing them to justice without formal complaints.”
Currently relying on a “discreet presence,” the GNR source admitted that there might “have to be coordination between both modes, the police presence and the police presence in criminal investigation.”
Regarding the issue, an official source from the Sintra City Council revealed that, following the publication of the news, the mayor “immediately met with the Municipal Police.”
Although there has not been “any type of report either through residents or tour operators,” municipal officials assured: “We are attentive to a situation that, if confirmed, we condemn and cannot allow to happen.”
